CHILI. 



151 



CHILI, an independent republic of South 

 America. (For details relating to area, see 

 "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1884.) Final re- 

 turns of the census of Nov. 26, 1885, showed 

 the population at the time to have been 2..v_'7.- 

 o20, exclusive of 50,000 wild Indians, and in- 

 cluding 51.882 foreigners. 



Government. The President is Don Manuel 

 Balmaceda, whose term of office will expire on 

 Sept. 18, 1891. The Cabinet was composed 

 in 1888 of the following Ministers: Foreign 

 Affairs. Don Demetrio Lastavria ; Interior, 

 Don Pedro Lucio Cuadra ; Treasury, Don En- 

 rique S. San Fuente ; Industries and Public 

 Works, Don Vicente Davilla Larrain ; War 

 and Navy. Don Evaristo Sanchez Fontenilla; 

 and Justice, Senor F. Puga Borne. The Chilian 

 Minister to the United States is Don Domingo 

 Gana, The Consul-General in New York is 

 Don Federico A. Beelen ; the Consul-General 

 for California, Nevada, and Oregon, resident 

 at San Francisco, is Don Juan de la Cruz Cer- 

 da. The United States Minister to Chili is 

 William R. Roberts ; the American Consul at 

 Valparaiso is James W. Romeyn. 



Army. The strength of the permanent army 

 was fixed by law of Dec. 30, 1887, at 5,385, 

 consisting of two regiments of artillery ; one 

 battalion of sappers ; eight of foot, and three 

 regiments of horse, to be added to which 

 there is a coast artillery force of 500; consti- 

 tuting in the aggregate 5,885 men, commanded 

 by 932 officers. The military school is at- 

 tended by 115 cadets. The National Guard, 

 organized under provisions of the law of Sept. 

 26, 1882, is composed of 90 corps, numbering 

 in the aggregate 48.674 file. 



Na?y. In conformity with the provisions of 

 the law of Dec. 30, 1887, there were in active 

 service in 1888 two frigates and one monitor, all 

 armored vessels ; three corvettes ; three cruis- 

 ers; two gun-boats ; one transport ; four "es- 

 campavias," and eleven torpedo-boats, out of 

 thirty-one vessels composing the Chilian fleet, 

 with a joint tonnage of 17,495. The navy was 

 commanded by 55 officers ; there were 239 

 surgeons, pilots, and apprentices on board, and 

 1,988 sailors and marines. The naval school 

 at Valparaiso was attended by 70 cadets. 



Public Works. In April the work connecting 

 Lake Vichuquen with the ocean was begun. 

 This work will result in the formation of a 

 strong military port. 



Finances. The foreign indebtedness of Chili 

 consisted, on Jan. 1, 1888, of the following 

 outstanding bonds : 3-per-cent. loan of 1843, 

 $533,000 ; 4-per-cent, loan of 1885, $4.024,- 

 000; 4fper-cent. loan of 1886, $30,050,000; 

 and 4i-per-cent. nitrate certificates, $5,830,- 

 005; constituting a total of $40.437,005, money 

 chiefly expended in the construction of Gov- 

 ernment lines of railway ; consequently, Chili 

 has something to show for what she owes 

 abroad. The home debt was contracted par- 

 tially during the war of independence, in part 

 also for the building of railroads, and finally 



during the war with Spain and the one with 

 Peru and Bolivia ; 3 and 7 per cent, bonds 

 were issued, and since 1837 the latter have 

 gradually been reduced through the operations 

 of the sinking-fund; of these bonds, there 

 were outstanding, on Dec. 31, 1887, $6,543,- 

 900 ; furthermore, $16,965,756. for which there 

 exists no sinking-fund, and, finally, there are 

 $-24.687,916 paper money, the internal debt 

 thus reaching, in the aggregate, the sum of 

 :'7,572. on Dec. 31, 1887, as compared 

 with $49,917,637 on Dec. 31, 1886; which at 

 the time included $26,687,916 paper money; 

 of which, consequently, during the twelve- 

 month, $1,800,000 had been withdrawn from 

 circulation and destroyed. 



The actual income in 1887 was $45,888,953, 

 as compared with $17.000,000 in 1877, and 

 $9,000,000 in 1866. whereas the actual outlay 

 in 1887 was only $37,113,408 for ordinary and 

 extraordinary expenditures; so that a surplus 

 resulted of $8,775,545. On Dec. 31, 1887, the 

 Chilian treasury held in cash the sum of $21,- 

 277,710, without counting the bar-silver re- 

 tained as reserve to secure the note circula- 

 tion, and without the $2,298,754 of capital 

 and interest which Peru was then still owing 

 Chili. The budget for 1889 estimates the reve- 

 nue at $46,000,000, and the expenditure at 

 $53,000,000, the deficit to arise from railroads 

 which the Government intends building, in 

 conformity with the authority obtained from 

 Congress under date of Jan. 20, 1888. 



The Council of State sanctioned the plan 

 authorizing the President to spend the sum of 

 $1.204,000 for the purpose of canceling the 

 county debts of the republic with the exception 

 of those of Valparaiso and Santiago. 



On Ang. 7, 1888, the contract terminated 

 which gave to certain banks the privilege of 

 issuing bank-notes ; there were in all eighteen 

 banks enjoying the advantage named, and on a 

 cash capital of $23,111,887, their circulation 

 amounted to $16,061,262. The three leading 

 banks circulating notes, comprised in the above 

 sum, are the Banco Nacional, with a capital 

 of $6,000,000, and a circulation of $4,500,456 ; 

 the Banco de Valparaiso, capital $5,125,000, 

 issue $4,098,312; and the Banco de Santiago, 

 capital $4. i HI". * H in. issue 2,673,600. The Gov- 

 ernment intends to decree in the future the 

 free issue of bank-notes under the proviso of 

 tbe guarantees stipulated by section 7 of the 

 law of March 14, 1887. 



Charitable Institutions, etc. The Government 

 paid subsidies to hospitals, lazarettos, vaccina- 

 tion offices, and to the fire departments, to the 

 amount of $650,600, distributed among 225 

 establishments. The police was subsidized by 

 8471.900. For 1888 there had been set aside 

 for the benefit of all the institutions named 

 $1,196,140. 



Cholera. Between Dec, 25, 1887, and Feb. 3, 

 1888, there were in Valparaiso alone 4,500 

 cases of cholera, 1,357 proving fatal; the epi- 

 demic disappeared gradually with the advent 



